Stocks rally as governments plan to ease virus lockdowns

STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA

AP Business Writers

Stocks around the world rose Monday as governments prepare to gradually lift restrictions they imposed on businesses to slow the sweep of the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 was up 1.2% in afternoon trading, at the start of a week chockablock with market-moving events. Several of the world's largest central banks are meeting, including the Bank of Japan, which announced its latest stimulus measures to prop up markets.

A slew of the biggest U.S. companies are also scheduled to report how much profit they made in the first three mo...